Apsis
by Sparrowfeather1
Summary: Peter is used to living his life alone, distanced from his other classmates and family but when a new student refuses to take no for an answer Peter finds his life changed in a way he never thought possible but at the same time is this new kid Chris really as harmless as he seems or does he have his own motives for trying to become Peter's friend? HighSchool AU Peter/Chris Argale!
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Apsis**

**Summary: Peter is used to living his life alone, distanced from his other classmates and his family but when a strange new student refuses to take his customary no for an answer Peter finds his life changed in a way he never thought possible but at the same time is this new kid Chris really as harmless as he seems or does he have his own motives for trying to become Peter's friend? High School AU, Peter Hale/Chris Argent Slash Argale**

**Rating: T for now, may go up in later chapters.**

**Well, here is the beginning of my new story! I recently fell in love with Argale and already wrote a one shot for the pairing (check it ouuuuut) but I felt the need to also write a chapter fic for them too just because they are way under appreciated in the Teen Wolf universe. **

**The title means the closest and farthest points in an elliptical orbit. AKA the perigee and apogee of the moon as it orbits around the earth.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf. If I did it'd be a gay love fest all the time.**

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He hated to admit it but he felt like Rapunzel most of the time, trapped inside a tower that kept him from experiencing the outside world. But his tower wasn't made of bricks or mortar, it was constructed from his own fears and anxiety. He knew he wasn't like the rest of his family, they all took pride in their 'unique abilities' but he didn't, he couldn't, not when it's what kept him trapped behind walls of secrets and lies.

"Peter! Are you done cleaning your room yet? Don't be late for your first day of school!" Talia yelled up the stairs.

"I'm leaving now." He said back, picking up his bag from off his bedroom floor that was covered in clothes, crumpled papers and the occasional fast food wrapper. He took the stairs two at a time, heading for the front door but a hand on his shoulder yanked him back.

"I asked if you finished cleaning your room." Talia said, her voice chipped and annoyed, unsurprising. She had always been an overprotective pain in the ass, even before their parents died, but it had gotten worse since she had kids of her own.

"I, for one, like it dirty, let my environment reflect the clutter inside my head. There's something horrible unnatural about pristine cleanliness."

"You're going to finish cleaning once you're home from school." She said sternly

"It will be the highlight of my day." He said sarcastically, walking out the door without waiting to hear her response. He got into his car and drove to Beacon Hills high school, the one place he hated more than home. Here he was surrounded by hundreds of dull normal people who had no clue that they attended school with a werewolf. Not only that but really, they were all idiots, every single one of them. Trying to hold a conversation with any of them was like talking to a slug, a very uneducated one at that. He wished he could test out but Talia refused, wanting him to have a 'normal high school experience,' whatever that was supposed to mean. The only thought that cheered him up was that in three short months he'd be turning eighteen and then he didn't need Talia's permission to do anything. He could take the test to graduate early and move out, go anywhere he wanted. Maybe Athens, at least there there was some history to be appreciated.

He parked his car and went inside, pushing through the crowds of people getting reacquainted with each other after the summer break. Friends laughed and hugged each other and couples held hands in the hallway, it was sickening really. Or that might be the jealousy talking because as ignorant and clueless as these people were they had something he didn't. Relationships. Even though he was infinitely stronger, smarter and could probably rip their hearts out with his bare hands, he envied them. They were able to make connections without having to hide their true identity. Sometimes a brave, ignorant soul would try to be his friend, most of time it was girl, wide eyed and dreaming of being the one who finally solved the puzzle that is Peter Hale. They were always disappointed and normally in tears by the end of the day because despite popular belief it wasn't fun being the puzzle. People always tried to jam the pieces together haphazardly then when they didn't fit together the way they wanted they'd get mad and leave. It was always the same, so he just stopped trying to make friends…but that didn't mean he wasn't lonely sometimes.

Peter walked straight into his first period English class, expecting to be the first one there because everyone else was still mingling in the halls but to his surprise another student was already in the classroom. He was unfamiliar, probably a new student and was talking to their teacher, a false smile plastered on his face as Mr. Miller gushed about how great the school was and how he'd fit right in in no time.

Peter smirked, shaking his head and taking a seat towards the back of the room close to the windows. At least that way he could sight see while Miller droned on about the importance of semi colons. He dropped his bag down beside and took out a notebook, beginning to doodle on a blank page.

"Is he always that…enthusiastic?"

Peter started, dropping his pencil in shock. People never snuck up him. Never. He looked up, seeing that the new student had not only managed to walk over but sit down in the seat directly to his right, all without making a single noise to tip off his superior hearing.

"What…?" Peter asked slowly, his brain still trying to wrap around what exactly just happened.

"Mr. Miller. He seems sort of over excited don't you think? Unless of course I've completely missed that the fountain of youth is buried underneath this town, I haven't exactly seen anything impressive enough to earn that man's level of ardor."

"I'm sorry our small little town doesn't meet up to your lofty standards." He said in his standard unimpressed tone, though he was slightly impressed that this knew kid at least some sort of vocabulary.

"I didn't mean…sorry. I'm not very good at this."

"At what? Talking?" Peter really hoped this guy would get the hint and just stop talking to him.

"No. At being the new kid. You'd think I'd be great at it considering how much my family moves around but no, I'm still terrible at it. My sister Kate is great but she's great at everything. Me on the other hand, I have to make a stupid joke and end up insulting the first person I meet. My father always says I should just keep my mouth shut but you see when I get nervous I just start talking and sometimes by mouth goes faster than my brain and I just start babbling about the stupidest things and oh my god I'm doing that now aren't I? I'm so sorry. I should really shut up now shouldn't I? I'm such an idiot…"

Peter stared at him unblinkingly "Okay. Are you on any sort of medication? If not you might want to look into getting some."

"I don't need medication, I just get nervous." The new kid sighed and leaned over, picking up the pencil Peter dropped earlier and handed it to him.

"I'd get nervous too if I was as much of a spazz as you are." He took the pencil and tried to get back to his drawing, thinking that maybe now the guy would get the idea that he didn't want to be friends or acquaintances or whatever else he had on his mind.

"Yeah. Sorry again about blabbering. I'm Chris by the way."

"Hello Chris, I don't care."

"Are you always this…"

"Charming?"

"Grouchy."

"I'm worse normally."

"Then I guess I'm lucky to catch you on a good day."

"God dammit why won't you just leave me alone!" He finally snapped, looking back up to Chris, ignoring the peeved look Mr. Miller sent him from the front of the room.

"Because I think you're funny."

"Funny? _You_ think _I'm_ the funny one?" Peter asked incredulously

"Yeah. I do." Chris smiled, leaning back in his seat as other students finally began to filter in the classroom.

"You're insane. I'm serious about this, you need to look into medication."

"If you say so." Chris shrugged, a small smile dancing on his face. He finally turned away from Peter when Miller started his lecture, greeting everyone to class with the same sort of misplaced enthusiasm he had used on Chris earlier. Peter sighed and went back to his picture, drawing one of the birds that sat on a branch outside.

Fifty minutes later the class was finally over. As soon as the bell rang Peter grabbed his bag and left as quickly as he could. Throughout the whole hour he felt Chris' eyes on him and it made him feel odd, he wasn't used to having people look at him like that, not like he was a puzzle but like he was an interesting book waiting to be read, words and sentences devoured until every multiple meaning became clear. He didn't rush out of class because the look made him uncomfortable, in fact it was quite the opposite, he liked having someone look at him like that. And liking it was dangerous. He found a stool in his next class, Chemistry, and reminded himself that even if Chris had, for some godforsaken reason, latched on to him, he could under no circumstances succumb to the temptation of companionship. He had a plan, three months, early graduation, Athens. He had to stick to that, not let some new kid mess that up, because acquaintances turned into friends and friends shared secrets and his particular secret being discovered historically led to mobs with large, pointy pitchforks and torches, lots of torches.

"I hope you don't mind if I sit by you again. I think it's better if I only spazz out my introduction with one person per day."

"Son of a-will you stop that!" He snapped, looking at Chris who had sat beside him.

"Stop what?" He looked genuinely confused. The bastard.

"Sneaking up on me!"

"Sorry. I wasn't trying to." He said a bit sheepishly "You just always seem to be somewhere else."

"Look, I don't mean to crush your hopes and dreams here but I don't want to be your little buddy. I'm always somewhere else because I don't have friends, I don't like people, I don't like you so please, just find someone else to sit by and harass."

"You don't have any friends? That's so sad." Chris frowned

"Are you for real? _That_ is what you latch on to?" Peter groaned, part of him wishing that he could transform and rip this annoying guy's throat out and just be done with it. The other part of him, that he steadfastly ignored, was intrigued. People didn't normally last this long against his sour attitude, let along manage to annoy him this much.

"Well yeah, everyone should have friends. People to confide in."

"Dude. Seriously. Just go, I don't want-" Peter was cut off as their teacher, a short, older woman started to talk.

"Welcome to Chemistry 101. I'm your teacher Mrs. Hardwick, now that your know me please take a look at the person sitting next to you and introduce yourselves if you're unfamiliar. Get to know each other well, they will be your permanent lab partner for the rest of the year."

Peter promptly banged his head on the table. He just could not win.

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**Will Peter continue to reject Chris friendship?**

**Is Chris really this spazzy as a teenager or is it just an act?**

**Is Kate somehow involved with her brother's immediate Halession? (New word! Bam!)**

**And most importantly will Peter ever clean his room?**

**Find out all this and more in later chapters!**

**On a less weird note, I hoped you liked the first chapter as much as I did. If you did please review, if not also review and let me know what you think I could do better. The next chapter should be coming out in the next few days, I do my best to update regularly but with weird school hours and a job they'll be coming out at really random hours of the day.**

**So yes! Please Review and Follow and all that fun stuff! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome newcomers and returning readers! Here is chapter 2 of Apsis. The first chapter actually got a better response than I was expecting so yay! You guys rock.**

**Also, who thought the "young Chris" in this week's episode was absolutely adorable! I mean god, that more than anything gave me inspiration for this chapter because while we have seen "young Peter" before this is the first time that I've really been able to envision Chris at such a young age. And he was about the same age in that episode as he is in this story, give or take a year.**

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Teen Wolf. Nothing has changed in the three days since I posted the first chapter.**

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"How was your first day of school?" Talia asked when he came through the door.

"Fine." He said simply, not in the mood for talking. All day he had listened to Chris go on and on, all he wanted was some peace and quiet. He stomped upstairs to his room, threw his bag on the ground and dropped his jacket on the floor next to it all before he noticed anything was wrong. Everything was gone, his papers on the floor, his dirty clothes, his collection of snacks, someone had cleaned his room. Everything was in its place, stacked nicely on shelves or in its drawers. He felt his eyes flash, the anger boiling up inside him so suddenly that for a moment he thought he was going to loose control "TALIA!" he barked, bounding downstairs. His claws weren't erupting but he felt his heart pounding in chest, fury flowing through his veins.

"Yes Peter?" She asked patiently, standing in the kitchen, drinking a hot cup of tea. She had obviously been waiting for him.

"You were in my room. You messed up all my stuff!"

"No. I cleaned it, I organized it. You should thank me."

"Thank you? Thank you!? I never asked for your help, I told you that I like it messy! And I definitely didn't want you invading my personal space!"

"Look. I've been patient with you. I know things haven't been easy this past year after what happened to mom and dad-"

"Don't you dare start with that sympathy shit. I've told you a million times I'm fine, yeah, I miss them but I don't cry myself to sleep every night. What happened happened and I'm dealing with it in my own way."

"By planning to run away?" Talking asked, reaching into her pocket and taking out one of the pieces of paper that had been on Peter's floor. It was a list of ticket prices for different places around the globe.

"I'm not running away. I'm exploring the world."

"So what, you're just going to drop out of school?"

"No. I'm going to test out. There's nothing they can teach me that I don't already know."

"I told you last summer I'm not going to sign off on you taking any tests."

"I'm turning eighteen in three months Talia. I don't need your approval after that."

"And then what? You'll leave the pack, leave your family and become an Omega?"

"It's no worse than being a Beta my whole life!"

"Don't be ridiculous. At least here you have protection all around you, out there you'd be alone."

"I'm alone here! Don't you see that? I hate everything about this damn town and everyone in it! They're ignorant, stupid, small town hicks! I want to go somewhere with culture and sophistication, where I can have a conversation without feeling like I've lost brain cells with each word that comes out of these morons mouths!"

"We aren't like everyone else Peter. We don't have the same luxuries as other people. With the extra strengths our affliction gives us we also are saddled with extra responsibility. If one of us is discovered it puts us all at risk, that's why we stay in packs. Packs protect everyone, going off on your own like that isn't only reckless but it's selfish and dangerous."

"But it is my choice." He said through gritted teeth. "Mine. Not yours."

"I'm your Alpha."

"For now." He said, snatching his piece of paper "Mom and Dad would have understood. Dad would have clapped me on the back and said 'make the Hale name feared wherever you go.' And mom would have made me enough baked goods to feed a third world country. They would have supported me, you know they would have." He muttered and went back upstairs to his room, slamming the door and kicking the wall furiously, making the plaster crack. Sometimes he really did miss his parents, his father had been a strong and wise Alpha, having the respect of all the surrounding packs. He was where Peter gained his love and literature and art from, his father always said that just because humans may consider them uncivilized monsters doesn't mean they needed to act like one. His mother on the other hand was the quintessential mom. She was the person who would bandage your injuries even though she knew it'd heal in moments. She was kind and patient, never jumping to conclusions and always listening to your side of the story. He missed them everyday and despite what he told Talia it ate away at him, the little hole their death left in his heart getting bigger every day. And Talia trying to take their place didn't make him feel any better.

He spent the rest of the evening in his room, refusing to come down even for dinner. The next morning he left early for school, leaving long before anyone else got up, the sun barely above the horizon when he pulled into the school parking lot. He parked and turned off the engine, it was a fair weathered September, the need for air conditioning or heat was nonexistent so he leaned his seat back and put his headphones in, letting himself zone out. It was moments like this that were his reprieve from reality, where he let the music sweep him away and he could imagine any world he wanted. He could pretend that he was normal, that he wasn't chained down by the curse of his nature. Because that's how he saw it, a curse, Talia would call it a gift but for him it was the reason he was miserable, it's what kept him isolated, kept him trapped in his brickless tower above and unconnected from everyone else. It's also what killed his parents, they were hunted down like animals, snared and impaled like the beasts they were perceived to be. The killers giving no thought to the family the couple left behind. And that violent end to life was always a possibly for him because of a condition he had no choice in receiving, a condition he was born with. It was unfair that so much was expected of him, that his whole life was controlled and laid out because he happened to be born into a family of freaks. It wasn't right and he wasn't one to stand for injustice.

When school started a couple hours later he took out his headphones and walked inside, taking his seat in English class. Much to his chagrin Chris sat down next to him again. "Hey." Chris greeted.

"What? No babbling today?" He asked sarcastically.

"Well, if you want I'm sure I could find something to talk about. Um, did you know that scorpions can hold their breath for up to six days?"

"Why would I know that?" He asked incredulously. "Why would _you_ know that? You know what, never mind. I don't want to know, at all. Just be quiet and don't talk."

"If you say so." Chris smirked, turning to the front of the class. It took Peter all of ten minutes to get annoyed with the silence. Yesterday had been one of the least boring days he had experienced since his parents deaths, Chris' constant attempts at conversation had renewed a latent desire for companionship. And that more than the silence was what frustrated him. Just as Peter was about to give in and whisper something to his neighbor Chris stretched languidly, subtly dropping a note on Peter's desk.

He opened it slowly, rather stunned, he had never had someone pass notes to him before. There was something unexpectedly thrilling about it, which Peter found odd. While he normally automatically hated secrets, this was different, it didn't seem like a lie or a façade but instead more like a sort of covert camaraderie.

_Also, crows can recognize human faces and hold grudges against ones they don't like. (You said no talking. You didn't say anything about writing.)_

Peter had to smother a small smile. He had to admit, this guy was stubborn and he'd be lying if he said he didn't admire someone who refused to take no as an answer. It took him a moment to decide what to write back, finally he scribbled a quick response. _I also hold grudges against people I don't like. And so far you aren't doing yourself any favors_. When Miller turned to write something on the chalkboard he threw the note back to Chris who caught it midair. He raised an eyebrow, and Chris shrugged, giving an embarrassed little smile in return. 'Sports' Chris mouthed before turning back to his desk, reading the note, his smile only growing.

Throughout the rest of the hour they passed the note back and forth. Chris offered a variety of strange facts about animals and Peter responded in kind, always with sarcastic and sometimes borderline threating words, but he always responded.

As he walked to his next class Chris kept in step with him, hands in his pockets. "So…why do you know so much about animals?" Surprisingly it Peter that spoke first this time.

"My mother was a zoologist." He shrugged. "She was getting her doctorate when I was a kid and she'd read me bedtime stories from her textbooks. Granted they weren't the most imaginative stories but hey were nice still."

"My father read me Poetry" Peter said, not sure what prompted him to divulge this information.

"What kind? No, let me guess. Edgar Allen Poe, you seem like the Poe type." Chris smirked.

"Sometimes but his favorite was Lord Byron."

"Never heard of him."

"Not many teenagers have." Peter sighed, he hadn't been able to bring himself to pick up any of his father's books since his passing. "Dad was really into the humanities. Art, literature, history, things like that. "

"Was?" Chris asked

"Hm? Oh yeah, you wouldn't know. My parents were murdered last year, my older sister takes care of me now, or at least that's what the legal documents say since I'm still a minor but in reality I feel more like I take care of myself." He said, trying to keep his voice even. He figured Chris would hear about the murder sooner or later. Beacon Hills wasn't a large place, when two of its most popular residents had been found dead in the woods last year it had been the biggest gossip story of the decade. The newfound celebrity he got from being 'the dead people's kid' hadn't helped the grieving process. The official case was technically still open but all leads had gone bone dry. But the rest of the Hale family knew that Hunters were responsible, there was no sign of foul play from other Alphas and the only other people capable of taking down two full grown werewolves, an Alpha among them, were Hunters. There was no other logical explanation.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Chris said, seeming genuinely sad for Peter. Normally pity annoyed him but this didn't seem like pity, it was more like empathy, something Peter understood better when Chris continued. "My mom died too. Not in such a horrible way as your parents, she died having my sister…she was two credits short of her Ph.D. when it happened. Nobody expected it, the pregnancy had been perfectly fine but when the time came…my sister came out of the hospital and my mom didn't. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame Katie at all, I just wish she could have known our mother, she was…she was a great person…"

"She sounds like it." Peter nodded "What about your father, you haven't mentioned him."

"My father is…a bit strict." Chris sighed. They arrived at their Chemistry classroom and sat down at their table. There were still a couple minutes left before the bell would ring. "He's not a bad dad, he's just sort of lost his soft side when mom died. It's all business with him, except with Katie, she and my father get along great. She's a lot like him."

"Is that good or bad?" He asked, honestly not able to tell by the tone in Chris' voice, which was odd, his advanced hearing normally allowed him to distinguish between different layers in the human voice. That and he was also just quite perceptive as well.

"I'll let you know when I decide." Chris chuckled and then bumped his elbow into Peter's arm. "Look at you. We just had a whole conversation and you didn't tell me to fuck off once."

"I never told you to 'fuck off.'" Peter sniffed indignantly

"Oh yes, I'm sorry, you're much to dignified for language like that." Chris laughed and Peter cracked a small smile and for the first time he found that he didn't care. He was enjoying himself. It was nice to talk about his parents again, their interests and who they were, not just their death and how it negatively effected his life.

Class started and after that the rest of the day went by quickly. When he arrived home he didn't get more than two steps inside before he heard Talia call his name.

"Molest more of my belongings again?" He asked, dropping his school bag on the kitchen floor and grabbing an apple from a bowl, biting into it.

Talia was making dinner, which personally he thought was ridiculous considering it was barely four pm. "I've thought a lot about what you said yesterday and decided that you were right." She sighed.

"Of course I was right. Not exactly sure what I was right about but I'm sure whatever it was was rather obvious to begin with."

"Can you be serious for once Peter!" She said frustrated

"I'm always serious." He said and she let out an annoyed breath.

"Mom and Dad would have supported you decision to leave. They would have signed off on letting you graduate early and they would have helped you pack. Dad would have probably even bought you a new camera so you could bring home pictures…but I'm not Mom and Dad." She said, stirring her pot of spaghetti sauce. "I can't let you leave right now, not just because I don't want you to go but because it isn't safe for the pack. I'm a new Alpha, others may think that means we're at our weakest. Having you run away right now will practically prove them right. If you won't stay for me, at least think about your nieces and nephew. They're to young to defend themselves properly yet. If Hunters or a rival pack try to take advantage of us they could be hurt…I can't let that happen, as their Alpha and as their mother. But, give me some time, let me make it clear to everyone that the Hale Pack is still as strong as ever. Once things settle down I swear I will support your decision to stay or go."

"I don't need your approval Talia." He said softly, "But even if I think your leadership is a mistake the kids don't deserve to suffer because of it. I'll pretend to be the good little Beta but only until I'm eighteen. Then I'm leaving and you're on your own. Besides, if you haven't settled things by then I doubt you ever will." Peter dropped his apple core in the garbage and walked upstairs.

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**Well there's chapter two! I hope you liked it! I needed something for Peter and Chris to bond over and their parents seemed like a good subject. It's a sore spot for Peter but he's finally found someone who understands the pain of loosing a parent suddenly. I never noticed any mention of Gerard's wife so I sort of made up a backstory for her as someone smart but still kind and loving. In my mind she's the person that influenced Chris to be the only noble, good hearted one in that family, her absence in Kate's life led her daughter to be much less inclined towards kindness which will become more apparent later in the story.**

**So yes, thank you for reading and please REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back! Sorry it took so long to update, things got hectic all of a sudden but never fear, a new chapter is finally here! It's also a little bit longer than the last ones to make up for how long it took me to get it out. Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing, you guys are fantaaaaastic! But I have to say, this is not my favorite chapter, I had a hard time writing it but I still hope you guys enjoy it!**

**And geez, last week's episode was something else. I had nightmares about that mummy for days afterwards. I'm literally yelling at my television screen throughout the whole episode, I was so loud that I'm surprised the neighbors didn't call the cops. **

**But yes, anyways, onto the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf. If I did Argale would be cannon.**

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"I still don't get it." Chris groaned, cracking his neck and stretching his arms.

"Come on, it's easy. Try again." Peter said.

"You're horrible." Chris groaned, dramatically flopping back against the stacked up work out mats that leaned against the wall behind them. The two were sitting on the floor in the gym's supply room, they were surrounded by treadmills, weights and every sort of ball imaginable with only a small space on the floor for the two of them to sit but they didn't care. It was the only place they were pretty sure they wouldn't be interrupted. Skipping class in the middle of the day was a serious offense after all, even if you were spending the time studying.

"You have to pick one. This presentation counts for a third of our semester grade." Peter smirked,

"I don't understand any of them. It's gibberish or something!"

"It's poetry, written in English."

"Shakespeare should not count as English. It should be classified as another language entirely."

"Then don't pick Shakespeare. You have a whole world of poems you can pick to memorize."

"Do you know what poem you're doing yet?"

"Of course."

"Well?"

"A Dream Within A Dream."

"I knew you were into Poe."

"Shut up. Do you want help or not?" He tried to keep his voice stern.

"You know I do."

"Then be quiet. Look through your book for poem ideas." Peter smirked. It was now late October and despite Peter's, often less than sincere attempts, he hadn't managed to shake Chris from his side. More than six weeks had gone by they first met and things had been surprisingly…okay. Life didn't suddenly become some perfect fantasy where all of his problems disappeared but having a companion, an actual friend, wasn't the deadly pit fall he expected it to be.

Chris was quiet for only a few minutes, "So there's a party tonight…"

"It's Halloween weekend, I'm sure there's a dozen parties." He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah well the last place I lived was a small town in the deep bible belt south. Most people didn't even celebrate Halloween, so for three years I set out a bowl of candy anyways and all my neighbors look at me like I was a heathen." Chris laughed and Peter shook his head. "So yeah, I'm looking forward to being able to properly celebrate Halloween again. So, party, do you think you want to go with me?"

"In case you haven't noticed I don't exactly like crowds and crowds don't exactly like me."

"So just to get this straight, no, you don't want to go with me?" Chris asked, sounding a bit put out. Peter paused and looked up at him, mouth hanging open a bit. No, he must have been imagining it…Chris wasn't asking _that_. Was he?

"I just don't like parties. I wasn't invited anyways, it'd be weird to just show up." He said suddenly feeling awkward. "Besides. I promised my sister I'd take her kids trick or treating." Why did this room suddenly feel so small?

"Oh. That sounds fun." Chris laughed. "I can only imagine you with children."

"Hey, I'm great with my nieces and nephew." Peter said indignantly.

"I'm sure you are." Chris smirked, "Grumpy, stoic you must be a real hit. The most fun I've ever seen you have is when you get to correct Miller in front of the whole class."

"I know how to have fun in other ways too."

"Oh? Prove it." Chris leaned towards him and Peter leaned back.

"What do you mean…?" He asked, his voice going up a few octaves, something that made Chris smile even wider. Yup, this room was definitely smaller than it was ten minutes ago. The walls must be closing in.

"What do you think I mean?" He asked quietly and this time Peter knew he wasn't imagining it when Chris' eyes flickered down to his lips. "I want…I want you to take me trick or treating with you…" he murmured, barely above a whisper.

"Wait. You want to do what?" Peter looked to him stunned.

Chris leaned back, smiling at him like nothing even happened. "I want to go trick or treating with you. Show me that you know how to have fun and don't actually torture children in your spare time."

"My nieces and nephew would eat you alive." Peter smirked, shaking his head.

"Aw, they can't be that bad."

"They're the reason I prefer silence. They never shut up, they're worse than you actually."

"Please, according to my dad no one is worse than me."

"Your dad's an idiot." Peter said plainly. "I've met at least…five people worse than you."

"My life has been redeemed." Chris said sarcastically.

"Hey! Who's in here?" The door to the supply room swung open without warning and their vice principal Mr. Takala looked inside it.

"No one's here." Peter said dryly, knowing that they were already caught.

"Get up, both of you. We have no tolerance for skipping classes. You're here to learn, not to goof off." Takala was probably the strictest person in the school.

"We were studying." Chris offered, sounding a bit more polite.

"During school hours you attend your classes. If you feel like you need extra studying you do it on your own time."

"Well that hardly seems fair does it?" Peter asked, standing up slowly, his voice low and angry. Mr. Takala had always been a bully, using his influence as vice principal to get kids and teachers to bend to his will. "You have all the power and we get no choice. You tell us where to go, when to be there and what to do. Five days a week we are trapped here and yet when we finally get free you expect us to bend to your will too and keep on doing the worthless work you assign us."

"I'm sorry you see things that way." Mr. Takala said, "Now lets go, my office now. Skipping class is a suspendable offense."

"Oh, how fucking genius. Your punishment for us skipping classes is to make us miss more class. I'm so proud of the geniuses that are supposedly teaching me and preparing me for life." Peter clapped slowly.

"Pete, stop it." Chris whispered to him.

"Yes Mr. Hale, listen to your friend." Mr. Takala said with a chip in his voice. "And watch your language."

"My language is what you have a problem with and not your hypocritical school system? You teach us nothing useful and only care about getting the test scores. Your teachers are either clueless or have their hands bound, forced to teach a politically slanted curriculum. It's laughable how much you think you know when in reality you're as ignorant as the rest."

"That is enough!" Mr. Takala snapped. "There are children in the world who would give up anything to get the opportunities you have."

"The opportunities I have? You've made it clear that I am nothing more than your slave. I am to follow your rules, do what you want and god forbid that I question the status quo. Don't you dare tell me that I'm lucky to be where I am, you have no idea who I am. To you I'm just another faceless, filthy teenager that your paycheck unfortunately relies on."

"I'm calling your parents."

"MY PARENTS ARE DEAD!" Peter barked furiously, his anger suddenly turning so dark and menacing that Mr. Takala took a step back, looking alarmed, reaching for the speaker at his waist to call for security. But unlike Mr. Takala who recoiled in fear Chris took a step forward, taking Peter's arm softly.

"Hey, calm down. Listen to my voice and hold onto it." He whispered, "Listen to me, just me, and ignore everything else."

Peter closed his eyes to hide the color change. "Go away Chris." He growled, he wasn't sure what he was more worried about, hurting Chris or having him see the truth about his condition. This was what he was worried about all along, he let himself get sucked into a friendship now only to have it ruined because he couldn't keep his stupid temper under control.

"I'm not going anywhere. You're my friend, friends don't leave each other." Chris said softly.

"Mr. Hale, Mr. Argent. Enough of this nonsense-" Mr. Takala started

"Will you shut up! You're not helping things!" This time it was Chris who snapped at him and Takala frowned, taking the walkie-talkie off of his belt and calling for school security.

"We don't have long before security gets here. I need you to chill out by then." Chris rubbed his hand up and down Peter's arm slowly. It was a soothing gesture, something that Peter's mother actually used to do. The claws that were beginning to erupt from his clenched fists started to slowly recede. "There we go."

Peter stiffened when Chris' hand slid down his arm and slipped into his hand before his claws completely disappeared. He expected Chris to recoil in shock or horror but instead he just squeezed his hand softly. Peter frowned confused, opening his eyes, which had luckily gone back to their natural, unglowing dark blue.

"Its okay." Chris said and Peter just stared him, not understanding how Chris could be so calm but before he could ask any questions two security walked into the room.

"Take them to the office now while I call their families." Mr. Takala said.

"We're going, we're going." Chris said, Peter letting go of his hand quickly. He stalked off, going towards the office as quickly as possible, not looking back but he could hear Chris' now familiar footsteps and the security following. When they got to the office he sat down in one of the chairs on the other side of Mr. Takala's desk. Chris sat beside him but neither of them said anything while Takala sat on the other side and called Talia and Chris' father to inform them of the suspension. He used words like disrespectful, inappropriate language and skipping class. All in all he made it sound like Chris and Peter were plotting to over throw the governments of the world instead of just skipping an easy class to study for a harder one.

"Your families will be here momentarily to pick you boys up." Mr. Takala said.

"I have a car you know. I could just drive myself home." Peter pointed out.

"You are minors. You're legally bound to attend school. If you don't your parents have to sign you out." Mr. Takala said simply and stood up, leaving the office to wait at the front of the school.

"What do you know…?" Peter asked Chris quietly once Takala was gone.

"I don't know what you mean." Chris shook his head.

"Yes you do. When I started to…when I started to loose control you knew exactly what to do. You talked me down, you made me focus on you instead of my anger and I know you felt my…my claws." Peter said softly, he wasn't used to talking about his condition outside of the house.

"I don't care _what_ you are Peter. I care about _who_ you are."

Peter swung his head around to look at Chris "So you do know?"

"Yeah. I do…"

"For how long?"

"I don't know. The first day. Not right away but by lunch time I had my suspicions then once I actually got you to tell me your name instead of just telling me to go away I knew for sure…the Hale pack is sort of well known in my family…"

"And you didn't think to tell me that you knew?" Peter snapped, feeling betrayed somehow.

"I didn't want you to know I knew just like you didn't want me to know in the first place!" Chris said frustrated.

"What is that even supposed to mean?"

"I liked hanging out with you. And I knew we couldn't be friends if you found out how I know that you're a…you know…"

"Yeah. How do you know?" Peter asked, finally realizing that this isn't just something an ordinary kid guesses and happens to be right about.

"What are you doing here?" he heard a new voice in the hallway.

"That's my sister." Peter groaned

"I should have known that it was one of your kind that got my boy into trouble."

"And that's my dad." Chris sighed.

"Why does my sister know your dad?" Peter asked

"It's nothing-" Chris started

"Why can't you just tell me the truth for once?" He snapped but for once it was more out of hurt than anger "I don't like being left out of the loop like this. You say you want to be my friend but then you go around and lie to me and yes, lying by omission counts. Real friends don't do things like that!" Peter yelled and stormed out of the office. He felt like an idiot for letting himself believe he could actually have a normal friendship for once. He walked out into the hallway and over to Talia who stood face to face with tall man who was already loosing some hair off of the top of his head but that didn't make him look any less threatening. He had wide eyes, crazy ones that reminded Peter of a rabid animal.

"There you are." Talia said, putting a hand on Peter's shoulder but didn't break eye contact with the man. "Lets go."

"Keep your brother away from my boy unless you want us to have a problem."

"It's your people that always create the problems Gerard. But welcome back to Beacon Hills all the same." Talia said coldly before leaving, the hand on Peter's should gripping so tightly that it almost hurt. She walked with him to the parking lot, stopping by her light blue mom van "Get in."

"I can drive myself home."

"You can pick up your car once your suspension is over. Get in." Talia growled and for once Peter was just too tired to argue with her. He climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up. "You were right. Beacon Hills isn't the right place for you anymore." She said simply.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked, staring out the window.

"I thought having you here would help keep the pack safe, make it stronger but instead you put us all in danger by making friends with a Hunter."

"A Hunter?" Peter turned to look at her. He had expected a lot of things but not that. Chris was goofy and kind, he didn't seem like the type who could come from the home of those cold hearted racists because in his eyes that's how Peter saw them, murdering racists. They decided that werewolves weren't as good as normal humans, that since they were different they must be feared and eradicated. And views like that just never seemed to correspond with Chris' behavior, especially since Chris just told him that he had known about Peter's lycanthropy since the beginning. If anything Chris had always seemed kinder, more understanding and more patient with his social inabilities than anyone else ever had.

"Didn't you ever hear his last name?" Talia asked frustrated "Of course he's a Hunter, his family name is just as well known as ours."

"I've heard his last name a handful of times but the Hunters left Beacon Hills years ago. Mom and Dad made it clear that they aren't welcome, I didn't think they'd be stupid enough to come back." Peter shrugged, to be honest he just never really thought about Chris' last name, maybe he should have…

"Mom and Dad aren't here anymore Pete. I told you that some people might want to take advantage of that. Hunters are those people. They moved back here just a couple months after the funeral. I've done my best to keep my distance from them but now…now you've gone and agitated them." She let out a sigh, stopping at a red light and pinching the bridge of her nose. "So I think you were right, you should go out and see the world. I'll sign off on whatever you want me to."

"So…essentially you're kicking me out because I made a friend, my first real friend, with someone who's family you disapprove of?" Peter asked slowly. "How antiquated."

"Peter. He's not really your friend. He's using you, probably on orders from his father but still, I have no doubt that he was instructed to get close to you." The light turned green and she started to drive again.

"No he wasn't." Peter said with more venom than even he expected. "I know Chris and yeah, maybe his family isn't the best but he is, he's a good guy…"

"That's why I'm letting you leave. I realized that you were right, you need to experience life outside of this family and this town. Then maybe you'd be more able to distinguish between those who have good intentions towards you and who have bad. That and if you're gone it might lessen Gerard Argent's anger." Talia parked in the driveway of the house. "Once your suspension is over I'll call the school and have them set up the exams to let you graduate early. And don't forget, your taking the kids out trick or treating tonight."

"Yeah. Thanks for the reminder." He said dryly, getting out of the car without another word and storming up to his room. He stayed there for the rest of the day and well into the evening, ignoring Talia's calls for dinner. He didn't understand why he was so upset, he was getting what he wanted, he was going to be able to travel the world. He was going to get out of boring, unsophisticated Beacon Hills…but some how the idea just didn't seem as exciting anymore.

A loud buzzing from his phone interrupted Peter's lamenting. He sighed and picked up his phone, looking at the new text message.

_Still mad at me? –Chris_

Peter sighed softly, hesitating only a moment before texting back a response _I'm always mad at you. –Peter _

He then got up and gathered Talia's children together, taking them outside for the town's trick or treating event.

* * *

**Well there it is! I hope you liked this chapter better than I did. It's not my favorite but at the same time I don't hate it. I know the ending is a bit abrupt but that's sort of how I wanted it because well Peter's angry and confused, his whole demeanor is sort of abrupt and blunt right now.**

**So yes, please REVIEW! Let me know what you think.**


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